Chapter 10 Pebbles

This morning's classes included Chinese, English, Physics, and Physical Education.

Unlike Xue Jing's previous life, Zhuxia seemed to put extra emphasis on physical education, at least that was the case at Qingcheng Affiliated Middle School. Not only were there quite a few PE classes every week, but it was also unlikely for a PE teacher to be "asked to take leave".

After three cultural classes, following a short break, the entire Elite Class headed to the changing room to swap their school uniforms for indoor sports attire.

"Hey, hey, those abs."

A tall classmate wearing glasses was startled when Xue Jing took off his shirt.

"Not bad, Xue Jing. How come I never noticed before? You've got some great abs."

As soon as he spoke, all the male students in the changing room turned their attention toward them.

"Holy crap!"

"Lord Jing is awesome. How did you get such beautiful abs? Teach your brothers."

"Firstly, I'm not gay, and secondly, can I touch them?"

"Envious of the future Mrs. Xue."

"Can I take a photo? Not that I wanna see it, it's just that I have a sister going through puberty who is really looking forward to this."

Xue Jing quickly pulled on his short-sleeve sports shirt, with a look of speechlessness: "Can you guys not be so gay? It's creepy."

Next to him, Li Ge finished changing and teased with a laugh, "You're scared by just a joke, you're a deep closet homophobe, aren't you? With your conditions, if you keep not getting a girlfriend, don't blame the guys for overthinking."

Xue Jing kicked him, causing him to stagger: "Get lost."

...

"Good shot!"

Inside the gym, Xue Jing made a long jump shot. The basketball left his hands and accurately dropped into the basket, immediately followed by cheers.

After a quick high-five with his teammates to celebrate, Xue Jing took a quick breath and glanced at the panel.

[Shot accurately hit, Aiming experience +2]

[Aiming Lv1 (78/300)]

The Aiming skill, which he had just activated last night, when applied to basketball—a sport requiring precision—was like playing at a lower dimension.

Within the three-point line, he could achieve nine out of ten shots even with opponents disturbing him, and outside the three-point line, he also had a very high probability of scoring. With just his shooting ability alone, he already had professional-level talent.

As such, even though he wasn't relying on his physical prowess to dominate aggressively, he was still causing a few classmates on the opposing team to feel utterly dispirited.

Especially since the girls who were resting on the side were watching the game.

Even though the girls were very modest and didn't make a sound, the awkwardness of being background decor for someone's showing off was still haunting and inescapable.

Xue Jing was not the kind who loved to show off; he had initially planned to just play casually without picking on his classmates.

This thought persisted until he made his first basket and saw the +2 experience for Aiming.

"Keep it up, keep it up, there's still a chance, we can win this back!"

From the opposing team, Li Ge clapped his hands to encourage his teammates, barely keeping their spirits up.

At the sound of the PE teacher's whistle, the game recommenced.

"Block him, block him! Block that shot!"

"Uh..."

Immersed in the basketball game, the students of the Elite Class failed to notice that a few figures in school uniforms had walked into the gym through the main entrance.

Leading them was a tall teenager with a somewhat chubby face. After coming in, he casually pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and placed it in his mouth with authority. Immediately, someone by his side lit it for him with a lighter, the whole procedure mimicking how minions light a cigarette for the boss in movies.

The teenager pinched the cigarette between two fingers, expertly puffing smoke rings, eyes slightly squinting as he watched the ongoing basketball game and said:

"Which one is Xue Jing?"

Someone immediately pointed out, "It's him, the one who just shot the basket!"

The portly youth stared for a while, then clicked his tongue and said, "This pretty boy looks quite human-shaped, no wonder Shiyu likes him."

Someone hesitantly voiced from the side, "Pei, maybe let's not do this, Xue Jing is from the Elite Class, and the school..."

Hearing this, Pei Youguang turned his head to look at the speaker, who promptly shut his mouth.

"What's there to fear about the school? Even the principal has to be polite to my dad, what's there to be afraid of? What the hell is the Elite Class anyway? If I, Pei Youguang, want to finish him, I'll finish him!"

Pei Youguang took a drag on his cigarette, spoke decisively, filled with confidence and domineering spirit.

The lackeys nearby were instantly subdued by his charisma, showing looks of admiration.

"Let's go. It's enough to recognize the person. It's not good to start anything here. We'll deal with him after school."

As he said this, Pei Youguang turned to leave first, and his followers lagged a step behind him, making for quite a scene.

...

The gym class ended, and the aiming experience had reached (158/300), progressing rapidly.

The growth in skill experience was reflected in real time in Xue Jing's performance, so his shooting got smoother as time went on, his hit rate steadily increasing, causing his male classmates to put on masks of pain one after another.

"Damn it, if I play basketball with you again, I'm a dog!"

In the class, Li Ge cursed loudly.

He then quickly added, "Unless I'm on your team."

Xue Jing was packing his things into his bag, heard this, and smiled, "Okay, next time I'll take you flying."

At home, practicing throwing darts, hitting the bullseye only earned me 1 point of experience, but playing basketball with others outside, scoring a basket earned 2 points. The system clearly wasn't encouraging practicing behind closed doors.

After a while, Li Ge also packed up his stuff, slung his backpack on, walked over to Xue Jing, and said earnestly, "Let's go, I'll walk you back."

Xue Jing looked at him, his expression as if he was about to make a noble sacrifice, and found it a bit funny and touching.

Unlike Xue Jing, Li Ge viewed Pei Youguang through a lens of terror, seeing him as a thug who might kill, set fires, and bully students. Knowing that this thug was likely to cause trouble for Xue Jing after school and still being willing to go back together, it could be said that he was quite loyal.

Xue Jing shook his head and said, "No need, I can go back on my own."

However, Li Ge insisted, "You needn't say more, a bro isn't like that, I said I'd walk with you, and I will!"

"Okay then," Xue Jing stopped refusing.

He added, "But remember, I'll handle this. You just watch from the side, got it?"

Li Ge was a bit puzzled, but he nodded anyway.

The two left the classroom and headed towards the school gate.

Compared with the usual, Xue Jing's demeanor was normal, whereas Li Ge's steps were heavy, his face full of worry, as if he was heading to his execution.

As they walked onto the sports field, something suddenly came to Xue Jing's mind.

'Hmm... I remember he said he had some martial arts training? Just in case, I better prepare.' Xue Jing thought to himself.

He lowered his head and searched on the ground for a while, then walked to the side of a pebble path.

Li Ge saw Xue Jing suddenly squat down, pick up some stones, and put them in his pocket, and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Xue Jing felt the stones in his pocket, checking their size and texture, and said offhandedly, "It's showdown time, I'm actually a successor of 'Little Li Flying Dagger'."

Li Ge: "Huh?"

...